Iran demands halt in arms sales to Israel citing 'humanitarian law'
The comments were made during the UN's annual Disarmament and International Security Committee meeting at the world body's headquarters in New York, Press TV added.
By JPOST.COM STAFFUpdated: OCTOBER 15, 2016 14:45Iranian President Hassan Rouhani addresses the United Nations General Assembly in New York, September 22, 2016(photo credit: REUTERS)
Iran on Saturday demanded that all arms sales to Israel and Saudi Arabia be halted immediately based on "humanitarian law" during a meeting at the United Nations, according to Iranian state news agency PressTV.“We are deeply concerned about the destabilizing repercussions of the continual entry and export of such weaponry into the region, especially into Saudi Arabia and the Zionist regime of Israel," said Iran's Deputy permanent representative at the UN Gholam-Hossein Dehqani.Dehqani added that Israel was "engaged in aggression and violation against other countries and in flouting their commitments to international humanitarian laws."The comments were made during the UN's annual Disarmament and International Security Committee meeting at the world body's headquarters in New York, Press TV added.The Iranian diplomat also urged action in disarming Israel of its alleged nuclear arsenal, claiming that “the most dangerous weapons are in the hands of the most dangerous regime in the Middle East." "The Zionist regime has recurrently perpetrated violations, occupation, genocide, and terrorist activities; and nuclear weapons in the hands of such a regime constitutes the most dangerous threat to NPT signatories in the Middle East,” he added.As per policy, Israel neither confirms nor denies it is in possession of nuclear weapons.The comments come just days after the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) voted on a preliminary resolution that that omits Jewish ties to its most holy religious sites: the Temple Mount and the Western Wall in a 24-6 vote.Twenty-six nations on Tuesday abstained from the vote and two were absent. The six countries that voted in support of Israel were the United States, Great Britain, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Germany and Estonia.The Islamic Republic is considered one of the most "brutal" regimes on the planet, engaged in a repressive campaign targeting its civilians for decades, according to a recent Amnesty International report.
Amnesty also notes that Iran "executes more people than any country in the world, other than China," and engages in "serious human rights violations... including detention of human rights defenders and other prisoners of conscience, unfair trials, torture and mistreatment in detention, deaths in custody and the application of the death penalty."